looking into the abyss
by Marvelgeek42
Summary: Fatima was just exploring the castle when she stumbled across a sobbing sixteen-year-old. [OC not paired with anyone]


**For _icecatfire_ , I hope you like it (cause I'm not sure I do)! Happy belated Birthday!**

 **Word Count: 1,046**

 **This is set after the "Willow prank".**

* * *

Fatima still couldn't quite believe her luck, despite the fact that she had been at Hogwarts for almost three months now.

She had magic. Actual, real life magic! It was so amazing and incredible and about the last thing she expected.

Her older sister Besarta had gotten married last year and had to stay with her husband's family in Morocco, while Fatima was here at this castle—a castle that looked almost as if had been taken straight out of an European fairytale—studying magic.

And as much as she felt for her sister—because marriage sounded like it was a horrible thing and their parents weren't exactly proving her wrong—Fatima really couldn't believe her luck.

Currently, the young Hufflepuff was exploring the castle, as her new best friend Nicole was still busy with her potions homework and didn't want her help quite yet.

("Thank you for your offer," the Ravenclaw had said, "but I want to try this myself first, alright? If I don't try, then I feel like I'm never gonna learn this properly.")

Since Fatima didn't have anything better to do at the moment—she had done that essay three days ago while Nicole had decided to research something about a habitat for dragon eggs or so. The Raven hadn't exactly been clear on that—she had decided to explore the castle. Not only was she curious about all the hidden places that had to be in this castle—or at the very least she could be immensely disappointed if they weren't—but she was well aware that there might be a time when she'll need it.

Proper hiding places were very useful at her home sometimes.

Fatima shook her head to clear it of those thoughts. She really didn't want to think of it right now.

The young Hufflepuff decided to climb the stairs of the tower that seemed to have appeared in front of her out of thin air. Maybe literally, or maybe she had simply been too deep in thought to notice.

As she went up the stairs, Fatima began to think she was hearing someone crying. At first she thought she imagined it, but the higher she got, the louder the cries were.

Concerned, she hurried to the top of the stairs.

Fatima was greeted by a boy around the age of her sister. He was curled into a ball, rocking back and forth, and crying strongly.

"Are...are you okay?" Dumb question, of course he's not. "What's wrong? Can I help you?"

The boy seemed to be mumbling to himself as well, so the Hufflepuff just now realized. She couldn't really understand much of it, but she got "'m sorry", "Jamie", and something that vaguely sounded like begging.

Hesitantly, Fatima stepped closer and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Hello?"

The boy looked up as he notices her.

Only he didn't really seem to see _her_.

"Look who we have here," he drawled, slowly rising from the ground. "Severus Snape. I hope you're fucking happy with what you've done." He chuckled darkly and angled his head to the side, a creepy expression on his face. " It's all your fault. It's your fault I lost my _brothers_!" The last word was the only word he yelled. It so full of emotion that it almost sounded as if the teen was drowning in them.

Fatima had started to step backwards, holding her hands out in front of her.

"I-I don't know what you are talking about," she stuttered, looking around to see if there was any other escape route, but there wasn't.

The stairs were the only way out.

"Oh, so you don't know? You just forgot how you threatened to kill all of my brothers, Snape?" The boy began to laugh now. It was a weird, insane laugh.

"I-I'm not him. That's not me. My name is Fatima," she pointed out as she inched her way back to the stairs.

"That's just like you. Pointing fingers at others and doing everything to let others take the blame. Well, you're not gonna hurt anyone else."

The boy stepped closer and closer to her and the look in his eye just crept her out. The fact that he was slowly raising his wand didn't exactly help.

Fatima let her instincts take over, turned around and ran downstairs.

The boy chased her and he was catching up.

Fast.

Fatima ran and, somehow, any and all doors closed immediately after she ran through them. That helped. The sound of the boy got more and more quiet.

It didn't take long until she saw someone else, even if it still felt too long. It was a group of three boys, around the age of the one chasing her.

"You've gotta help me!" she screamed, running into the nearest one. "He's insane!"

"Who is?" one of the boys—he had brown hair and several scars over his face—questioned.

"I don't know his name," Fatima explained.

"Describe him," the smallest, roundest out of the three proposed.

"He has long black hair, but it looked a bit unkempt and dirty. Uh, grey eyes, I think. Otherwise kind of like you do." She motioned at the boy who was still supporting her.

"Sirius," the same boy muttered. "What did he do?"

Fatima spoke quickly as she summarized the situation that had occurred minutes beforehand.

The three boys grew more shocked and teary eyed as she continued. They actually flinched when she mentioned that the insane boy had muttered something about 'losing his brothers'.

Right as she was finished, she heard the sounds of the boy following her again.

"Run along to the kitchen," the tallest boy ordered with an authoritative voice. "Or the Hospital Wing if you don't know where that is."

"Ask for chocolate and a dreamless sleep potion," the shortest advised. "You'll probably need it."

"We'll check up with you once we're done with Sirius," the scarred one promised. "Now go."

"A-are you sure you can handle him?"

The black-haired boy looked at her somberly. "Better than anyone else. He's our brother. Run along now."

And Fatima ran.

(The next morning, the four boys sat together at the Gryffindor table, laughing and joking. The insane one—Sirius Black as she learned—apologized for scaring her.

"It could've ended worse," she said with a smile.

"You're right.")

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 **Please tell me what you think!**


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